


Restless Nights

by night_in_hell



Category: Star Trek (2009)
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-20
Updated: 2013-08-20
Packaged: 2017-12-24 00:14:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/932754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/night_in_hell/pseuds/night_in_hell
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kirk can't sleep, so he goes to Bones for some help.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Restless Nights

It wasn’t perfectly quiet on the Enterprise, it never truly was. There was an underlying hum, the ship alive with its toneless, constant heartbeat as most of the crew slept soundly, their absent minds wandering in the stars surrounding them.

Jim struggled to find a comfortable position in his bed, wrestling the sheets and blankets with increasingly desperate frustration. Quickly, but not quick enough to quell his utter annoyance, he realized his battle with his bed would have to come to an end, and he surrendered his movements to the discomfort, as he would his tired but restless eyes. He squeezed them tight before blinking them open with a huff.

Lost in his muddled thoughts, Jim stared at the ceiling at first, until his line of sight strayed lazily to the door. Past that and down the hall was Bones, it was simply second nature tracing the route in his tired mind. And he couldn’t help but think, maybe just a short visit. Bones would help him sleep, he could always manage that somehow, whether it was his mere presence or something more purposeful that Kirk stubbornly didn’t want to credit to his skill as a friend or doctor.

His mind made up, Jim tossed his sheets to the side and glared at them, as if they were somehow the cause of his insomnia. His feet reluctantly greeted the cold floor, accompanied with a small shiver, and he suddenly became eager to get to Bones' warm and comforting bed. 

He scurried out the door and let his feet carry him through the memorized path, pausing only when he came within sight of Bones' room. He took his time before he made it to the door, and even more before he knocked softly, his pulse pounding as he waited for an answer. The familiar guilt of waking up Leonard found its way in his veins and was pushing against his heart, but rested there for only a moment before a groggy grumpy Bones gave his eventual response.

"What'd'you want?" Kirk chuckled to himself, his knuckles lightly covering his mouth to avoid any possibility of waking the crew resting in the neighboring rooms.

"It's just me," Jim offered, his voice lowered, mostly for the sake of being considerate, but also because it felt too soft to break the air with the volume of his words. He listened intently as loud footsteps made a path towards him from inside the room, Bones's face soon replacing the metal of the door, looking decidedly content to see Kirk, just maybe not particularly happy to be woken at this time of the night. Or maybe just not happy because of the reason.

"Jim? What're you doin' here?" but he knew. He always knew. Kirk let the air take its time leaving his mouth, it grazed his lips and warmed his teeth before he closed his eyes, intending now, as he usually did, to ignore the gargantuan foundation of his problems, and settle with the usual game the two of them played. Ignoring. Avoiding. He smiled. 

"Couldn't sleep... d'you mind if I come in?" Bones returned the gesture and nodded. It faded from his mouth as he yawned, gesturing Kirk inside, one hand covering his mouth, the other directed inside. The captain flopped on the bed, turning to Bones as he lay down next to him, watching the drowsy concentration in Bones' face as he pulled the blankets over them. Jim immediately felt his chill disappear and the goosebumps fade and smooth into nothing.

"C'mere." Bones stretched his arm across the pillow beside his own, re-positioning himself at the same time, inching a tad closer to Kirk. Jim rested his head in the crook of Bones' arm, nuzzling his nose into him, sighing away his problems as best as he could, trying to forget them, trying to lose them here, in a loving embrace. Bones craned his neck and placed a soft kiss on Jim's forehead, sighing, too, as he pulled away.

"You’re not sleeping all of the sudden, Jim," oh, so they weren’t avoiding. “I need to be concerned, don’t I?”

"No, that's just your doctor side talking." Kirk pushed himself closer to Bones, his left leg intertwined with Bones' right, wrapping his arms completely around Bones' waist. He burrowed his chin into McCoy's neck and kissed it softly, slowly. Bones placed his free arm on the side of Jim's head, carefully stroking his temple with the knuckle of his thumb, then with a gentle, habitual movement, guided Kirk's dirty blonde hair out of his face.

"Maybe. But what about my non-"

"Stop worrying, Bones. Just- shut up and kiss me," Jim whined, smirking, still caught in a joke, still caught in pretending, but still ever so desperate to be loved back. Rolling his eyes, Bones complied, his lips connecting with Jim's, his hand moving to cup the side of Kirk's cheek with delicacy, with poorly hidden concern, with evident sympathy. Jim's arm moved up McCoy's body, fingers grazing the fabric of his pajamas, allowing his skin to remember the comfort it brought.

If they deprived their minds of the burden of all the shit left unsaid between them, everything felt so harmless as they were lying there together, even space didn't seem so frightening and mysterious and impossibly gigantic. It was instead serene. It was wonderful. It sometimes felt so simple... that this was just what Jim needed. Perhaps only what Jim needed.

Kirk severed their tender kiss as he felt a wave of drowsiness wash over him. A fond smile stretched at Bones’ lips as he watched Jim's eyes droop, each blink lasting just a little longer than the last. He leaned down slowly and pecked his cheek, and brushed his fingers through Kirk's hair until his eyes stayed closed and his breathing was slow and even.

He put his head on top of Jim's, closing his own eyes and allowing himself to relish the rare relaxation and the cozy heat for a beautiful moment before he bundled up in the calm of night's embrace.


End file.
